Welsh Journals

THE UNREST IN THE COALFIELD I. IN a recent series of articles on The Mind of the Miner the writer pointed out that the antagonism between Coalowner and Collier in South Wales is growing even more bitter, and that a big struggle is probable after the War, unless means are taken to bridge over the chasm which now separates the two parties. Many optimistic people appear to think that the War has softened class hatred and they look forward to a reconciliation of Capital and Labour, and to the sinking of conflicting interests for the common good. So far as South Wales is concerned, at any rate, such a hope is not likely to be realised. On both sides there are power- ful sections who regard one another with intense hostility, and even the War with all its restraining influences cannot hold these indefinitely from one another's throats. The Socialist and Syndicalist Miners are not the only people who believe in the Class War' theory; many of their employers accept the creed with equal sincerity, and these advanced men in both camps are the determin- ing factors for industrial war or industrial peace. In this series of articles, as in those previously written, the object of the writer is to interpret the point of view of the miner-to explain the reasons why he distrusts and hates his employers, and why he is always ready to join in any attack on Capitalistic privilege. The rapid growth of Socialism, Syndicalism, and other advanced movements in South Wales is not due entirely to any inherent qualities attaching to these systems. Advanced causes feed on dis- content, and the success of their advocates depends largely on the fact that the grievances under which the audiences labour give force to the arguments of the preacher. The soil in South Wales is fertile for extreme propaganda. The miners have had. and still have, genuine grievances-grievances, however, which are now too deep-seated to be re- lieved merely by advancing wages or reducing hours of labour; the only adequate solution lies in giving the men full recognition as the dominant partners in the industry. Unrest in the South Wales coal trade is now inevitable so long as industry is organised on a capitalistic basis and the men are regarded as mere cogs in the machine. Generosity and tact exercised years ago might have made the men more contented and amenable the time for recon- ciling them to capitalism, however, has now gone by, and industrial peace is to be found only by fully admitting the men's claim to a voice in the control of their industry and by restricting the profits of the owners. This yet unspoken demand of the men may appear very selfish to people who accept the capitalist system as divinely ordained to men nurtured in the Marxian theory, however, it appears to be only elementary justice. The fundamental grievance of the South Wales miners is capitalism. Recent developments to- wards combination of ownerships have alarmed the men, and they regard with much uneasiness the operations of super-capitalists like Lord Rhondda who are constantly increasing their economic power. and, so the men believe, preparing to reduce them to industrial subjection. With the growth of combines and the more perfect organisation of the Coalowners' Association it is proposed to deal later. It will be convenient to discuss first some of the minor causes of industrial unrest which re asso- ciated with the management of the mines, and which have helped to stir up in the minds of the men a bitter hatred of the entire capitalist system. During recent years great changes have taken place in methods of mine working and management, and the failure of employers and managers to win the interest and support of their employees for the various changes that have been made largely account for the hostility with which the men regard the whole of the employing class. The unwise opposi- tion which the owners have manifested towards the men's unions, and their refusal in the past to assist the unionists to confine colliery employment to their members are also important factors which have tended to bring about the existing serious cleavage between the owners and the men. Perhaps the chief subsidiary causes of unrest are the following 1. Great progress has been made during recent years in engineering and other branches of techno- logy, and changes have been made in methods of working and managing mines. Owing to the con- servatism of miners in such matters the changes have often been accompanied by serious industrial trouble usually because the men have not been consulted, and because they fear that the innovation is intended to restrict their rights and privileges. Precedent and custom count for a good deal in colliery life, and the men guard very jealously any practices which have the sanction of long usage. even though such practices are oft-times less satis- factory to their own interests than others proposed by the management. John Nixon, the pioneer of the Welsh steam coal trade, had considerable diffi- culty in the sixties in enforcing new methods at his collieries, and more than one strike occurred because